The Benefits of Rollerblading
by Princess Cherry Blossom
Summary: What happens when a hormone driven Ichigo gives rollerblade lessons to his   curvy, auburn haired friend on a very hot summer's day? Only one way to find out! An IchiHime oneshot.


**A/N: **Well hi there. This is my second IchiHime story and it's my most serous (or simply longest?) attempt so far xD I really hope you like it though! Now go on, read it

**Disclaimer: **All rights belong to Tite Kubo, the creator of the masterpiece that is Bleach.

**Summary: **What happens when a hormone driven Ichigo gives rollerblade lessons to his

curvy, auburn haired friend on a very hot summer's day? Only one way to find out! An IchiHime oneshot.

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><p><strong>The Benefits of Rollerblading<strong>

by: Princess Cherry Blossom

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><p>The sun was slowly setting over the horizon as another tropical day had passed in Karakura Town. However, the streets were still busy, with people finishing up their daily activities and rushing to escape the evening heat.<p>

Four teenage friends were in no such rush though, as they rested in the shade of a tree in the town's park.

Inoue Orihime was clearly uneasy, squirming and twirling on the bench while her male friends were discussing some big sports event that was coming up. She however, was having a debate of her own.

Inoue never really knew hot to ask for favors. She enjoyed helping others, but wasn't quite sure how to handle situations where it was the other way around.

"Is something wrong, Inoue-san?" Ishida's voice broke her thoughts and she suddenly got very flustered as all attention was on her.

"Uh-oh, no. Nothing's wrong!" she chuckled nervously. "I was just…Um, thinking about something stupid, that's all".

"Don't say that, Inoue", Ichigo smiled at her. "What's up?"

"We probably haven't been the greatest company", Chad added in his baritone voice. "Talking about football since we got here. Sorry about that".

"N-no, don't apologize!" she protested. "It's not like I was bored or anything…I umm". She looked at her friends, all of them wearing the same expression, encouraging her to continue.

"Well… I've been thinking… My aunt sent me a pair of rollerblades last Christmas, and I'd really like to, um…Try them out sometimes", she sighed lightly, before continuing. "The thing is, I've never had the chance to… And it'd be really nice to have someone show me…Tatsuki-chan's on vacation and…"

"Sure thing, I'll help you out!" Ishida proclaimed happily, but the smile on his face quickly faded as he added, "Oh no, wait. I start my internship at the hospital tomorrow."

"I'm afraid I can't make it either", Chad said with disappointment. "I'm sorry, I'm having some relatives over tomorrow and…"

"No no, that's fine! Really!" Inoue assured them. "I'm sure Kurosaki-kun already has plans too, I'll… I'll just ask Hiroshi-kun, he might..."

"No!" Ichigo suddenly snapped. Realizing how weird that sounded, he quickly cleared his throat and continued. "I mean, I can do it. I haven't made any plans, it's not a problem".

"Really, Kurosaki-kun?"

"Yeah, sure", he smiled at her. "Let's meet here, around 10 am?"

"That's… So nice of you!" she mumbled out, a light blush capturing her cheeks. "I'll make us some lunch too!"

"You really don't…have to do that".

"Well, you guys are gonna have a great time, that's for sure!" Ishida teased, knowing Ichigo would catch that but continued before he could get a reply, "Let's go. It's getting late".

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><p>The orange-haired Shinigami Substitute dragged his feet towards his house at the end of the empty street. Clearly distracted by his thoughts, he didn't seem to notice that he had arrived at his destination. Trying to avoid his family members, he made his way upstairs to his room.<p>

Slumping down on his bed, he let out a sigh of frustration.

How did he get himself into this mess again?

One minute he was discussing his favorite football players with Chad and the next he had himself a date with Inoue! His friend, his classmate and…from what it seemed, his crush.

There, he finally admitted it to himself. He couldn't get the auburn beauty out of his mind! The only thing he could think about were her pink lips, creamy skin, feminine curves…

Ichigo knew it was wrong to fantasize about her like that. He truly hated himself for it. She was a friend, a precious friend he would never want to loose because of some raging desire that was obviously just a phase…

_It was just a phase, right...? _He let out another deep sigh and buried his head into the cool pillow.

This was exactly why he had decided to stay away from her for a while. When he heard her explain the whole rollerblading thing he realized he had to come up with some sort of an excuse fast. But just then, she had mentioned something about that perverted Hiroshi neighbor of hers helping her out.

A vein twitched on his head at the very thought of that suspicious guy spending alone time with her. As if he'd ever let that happen! After all, she was his… friend. And he was worried. It had nothing to do with jealousy or anything like that.

Right.

Turning the lights off, he let his eyelids shut and tried to calm down and get some rest. He was going to need it.

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><p>At exactly 10 am Ichigo found himself leaning against a tree in the park. The faint rustling of the leaves and a very light breeze captured his senses. He found a nice, cool spot to wait but he had no doubt it was going to be one hell of a hot day. In every way possible.<p>

Cursing his bad luck, he realized the last time his life was so complicated, things involved a psycho, yet insanely strong Soul Raper and his vicious Arrankar army being after him. He knew comparing having to fight the Espada and spending a day with Orihime was a bit too extreme but somehow, that did not make him feel any better.

"Kurosaki-kun!" a very cheerful voice stopped his train of thoughts. Turning around he saw the girl he had just imagined approach him in a quick pace. She waved at him with a bright smile on her face, yet that was not the first thing Ichigo had noticed.

Inoue was wearing jean shorts which she matched with a green top that revealed more skin than he could ever imagine. She was actually dressed quite appropriately, with the temperature being so high and all, but _damn_.

Ichigo swallowed thickly before managing to look away from her bare legs. She was carrying a huge bag in which he presumed she put her rollerblades.

"I'm sorry I'm late! I was making lunch" she explained, trying to steady her breath.

"That's alright, I just got here too", he replied, turning away to try to compose himself.

"A-ah, great!" her smile widened. "I'm gonna put these on so we can get started… I'm sorry for asking this of you, I'm sure you have better things to do"

"Don't worry about it, Inoue. I'm glad I can help", he assured her, still avoiding to look directly at her.

"A-ano, thank you, Kurosaki-kun", she tapped her foot on the ground nervously, a light blush appearing on her cheeks.

"Don't mention it", he replied quickly. Ichigo knew the longer this dragged on the harder it was going to get. He quietly sighed in relief when he caught her taking her sandals off and replacing them with a pair of brand new green rollerblades in the corner of his eyes.

Ichigo suddenly realized he had absolutely no plan what so ever how to teach her rollerblading. What was he supposed to do exactly? For some reason, he had a hard time concentrating.

"K-kurosaki-kun? I think I'm ready!" he heard her nervous voice form behind. Turning around he saw her trying to stand up shakily.

"Ahm… Okay. Well, let's get started then" he approached her. "We'll go with something easy to get you warmed up". He offered his hand to her which she gladly accepted and he felt her trembling. The girl was obviously terrified as he noticed her clutch was stronger than needed.

"Relax" he gave her a warm smile. "I'm here, you're not gonna get hurt".

Slowly, they made their way to the new, smooth sidewalk where most people usually cycled or rollerbladed. Luckily for them, the park was practically empty, most likely because the heat was already becoming unbearable.

"So for starters, bend your knees a bit. You'll move much easier that way", he explained as he positioned himself right in front of her. "I'll drag you forward slowly, but try moving your legs as much as you can, okay?"

"U-uhm, okay…" she replied unsurely as he started taking small steps backwards.

"See, it's not that scary, right?" he started picking up his pace, but soon found himself going faster than the poor girl was ready for as she let out a small yelp.

"Ahh…!" Inoue slid off her blades and fell right into Ichigo's wide chest.

"I'm sorry, Kurosaki-kun" she looked up at him and blinked in confusion, clearly not aware of the view she was giving him, as she was closer to him than ever. Her exposed cleavage was right under his nose, urging him to keep staring. The way her chest heaved up and down as she tried to steady her breath made it more difficult for him to look up. _Control._

He wondered how much skin he'd be able to see until she realized the position they were in.

"Kurosaki-kun?"

_Shit… _Ichigo felt a sudden need to punch himself in the face for thinking dirty thoughts at a time like this.

Forcing himself to look at anything but the incredibly enticing girl in front of him, he replied "Let's try this again. This time, I'll drag you from behind".

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><p>Hours have passed since the two teens started their lesson and one would be wrong not to notice the improvement the healer had made. She was still depending on Ichigo's strong hold on her hands, but was definitely feeling more comfortable on her blades, moving much faster and with more confidence.<p>

Ichigo, on the other hand, wasn't feeling as comfortable as his progressing companion. After hours of intense practice, with Inoue's breath getting unsteady and her skin being covered with sweat, it was getting more difficult for him to focus on what he was supposed to be doing. It turned out his idea of not looking at her while guiding her wasn't helping him much either, since she seemed to have formed the habit of falling into his back every once in a while, pressing her small figure onto his.

After a short break he suggested they take, he was just about to ask her if she was ready to continue when he sensed two grown men walking towards them, directing their focus on Inoue. Fighting the urge to shove her behind his back, he settled with glaring at the two with all his hatred. He didn't want some perverted scum looking at her so lecherously with her being so… exposed.

It seemed to have worked since their grins were now replaced by fearful expressions as they advanced forward in a much quicker pace.

Like he'd let them enjoy such a sight while undoubtedly thinking dirty thoughts.

Hell would freeze over first.

"Kurosaki-kun, should we continue?" he heard her impeccably sweet voice call out to him. Obviously she was completely unaware at the glaring contest that just took place. Ichigo didn't like the fact that she was so clueless when it came to the affect she had on men. With her being so naïve and innocent, he realized he wasn't comfortable with the thought of her out and about dressed like that without his protection.

"Kurosaki-kun?"

"Wha- Oh, yeah!" he finally exclaimed, trying to collect his thoughts. "You're getting better at this, Inoue. Why not try it without me now?"

"Whaat?" she replied, sounding genuinely surprised. "But Kurosaki-kun, isn't it too soon? I mean I can barely…"

"Don't worry" he interrupted her in a warm voice he always reserved just for her. "I'll be right by your side, I won't let you get hurt".

Ichigo spoke the truth. He might not have had his head in one place today, but there was never a risk of her getting hurt. He'd never let that happen on his watch.

He helped her get to the sidewalk and then let go of her hand, though he was still right beside her.

"Go on, you can do it" he encouraged her.

Inoue nodded nervously before directing her focus on what was in front of her. Swallowing

thickly, she started moving her legs slowly, one after the other.

"Remember, bend those knees" Ichigo reminded her as he walked beside her, cautiously watching her every move.

She was doing great so far, so great one could hardly imagine this was her first day rollerblading ever. Feeling more confident by each movement, she started picking up her pace.

"That's great, Inoue! You're doing excellent!"

Just as he thought his work here was done, Inoue suddenly slid off her blades and was about to hit the ground hard, but faster than eyes could see, Ichigo caught her by the waist effortlessly, preventing the fall.

He felt her warm breath on his cheeks as their faces were suddenly inches away. She was pressed against his chest with his strong arms still gripping her small waist.

For the first time that day, Ichigo gazed into her beautiful dark eyes that were staring at him with… fear?

"I-I'm sorry, Kurosaki-kun! You distracted me when you said…"

"Oh really? _**I**_ distracted _**you**_?" he smirked down at her, amused by the wild blush that started capturing her cheeks.

"Well, I…mmmf.." Her words had to wait, as a pair of strong lips were slammed upon hers. Ichigo wasted no time, as he slipped his tongue into the mouth, drawing her even closer to him.

Okay… What happened to his control?

It was like he was dealing with the hollow inside him! Whenever that happened, he had Inoue by his side to help him control it. Now he was dealing with Inoue herself, and couldn't help but notice she was a bit harder to control.

Just then, he heard her choke out a small moan, among other sweet little noises.

Definitely harder to control!

As their tongues danced playfully around each other, he let his hands slip under the fabric of her shirt. His mouth traveled from her lips down her neck to her exposed chest, tasting her sweet, creamy skin.

If they weren't in a public place, he didn't know if he could stop himself from ravaging her right then and there.

With an incredible amount of will power, he managed to pull away from her before things got too racy. As much as he was craving for more, the last thing he wanted was for someone to see them in that position.

"Kuro…saki…-kun?" Inoue panted, looking up at him, her eyes narrowing in confusion.

Ichigo could only smirk at her startled expression. She looked so cute, all flustered, with her bangs falling over her innocent eyes and a wide blush across her cheeks.

"Should we call it a day?" he asked in a raspy voice, regaining his previously depleted breath. "Orihime?"

He watched her lips curve upwards into a smile before she nodded happily. He helped her stand up on her own before giving her a peck on the lips.

As the pair made their way towards the gate holding hands, Ichigo listened to her ramble about what they were about to eat for lunch and smiled at the outcome of what he had thought would be a day he wouldn't want to remember.

"You know, Kurosaki-kun" she spoke softly. "Now that I'm a pro at rollerblading, next I want you to teach me diving!"

Ichigo sweat dropped at the very thought of it, but couldn't help but chuckle and place a soft kiss to her temple.

"Sure" he finally responded, squeezing her small hand tighter "Sounds like fun".

**The End**

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><p><strong>AN: **Well, there you have it! Was it decent? I really tried not to make it too fluffy, as I tend to do that with some of my stories ^^"

Please do share your thoughts, it would mean a lot : )

Thanks for reading anyway! Take care, everyone!

xx


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